The present invention relates to a traction distributing apparatus for a motor vehicle which is suitably used to control traction to be distributed to right and left axles, for example, and more particularly, to a traction distributing apparatus using a hydraulic motor for active control for distribution of traction.
In order to improve a cornering performance, etc., motor vehicles such as a four-wheel vehicle are generally provided with a differential gear mechanism arranged between axles of right and left driving wheel and comprising a differential gear, etc. The differential gear mechanism distributes traction derived from an engine to the right and left axles.
However, such traction distributing control ensured by the differential gear mechanism is designed to merely distribute traction of the engine to the right and left axles by using a reaction force which wheels (not shown) receive from the road surface, etc. Thus, when the wheels have a slip on the low-xcexc road surface having reduced coefficient of friction due to freezing, for example, stable traction distributing control may be difficult to carry out.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a traction distributing apparatus for a motor vehicle, which is free of the above drawbacks and contributes to enhancement of the workability and the lubrication and assembling performances.
The present invention generally provides a traction distributing apparatus for a motor vehicle with an engine and axles, comprising:
a housing;
an input shaft arranged on the input side of said housing and driven by said engine;
a differential gear mechanism arranged on the output side of said housing for distributing torque from said input shaft to said axles; and
a reversible hydraulic motor arranged on the output side of said housing, said hydraulic motor providing relative torque between said axles by a pressure oil supplied and discharged from the outside, said hydraulic motor comprising an outer rotor rotatably arranged on the output side of said housing and an inner rotor rotatably arranged inside said outer rotor for rotating relative to said outer rotor by means of said pressure oil, said outer rotor serving as part of one of said axles.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a traction distributing apparatus for a motor vehicle with an engine and axles, comprising:
a housing;
an input shaft arranged on the input side of said housing and driven by said engine;
a differential gear mechanism arranged on the output side of said housing for distributing torque from said input shaft to said axles;
a reversible hydraulic motor arranged on the output side of said housing, said hydraulic motor providing relative torque between said axles by a pressure oil supplied and discharged from the outside, said hydraulic motor comprising an outer rotor rotatably arranged on the output side of said housing and an inner rotor rotatably arranged inside said outer rotor for rotating relative to said outer rotor by means of said pressure oil, said outer rotor serving as part of one of said axles; and
a seal member arranged on the output side of said housing and between said differential gear mechanism and said hydraulic motor, said seal member separating a lubricating oil for said differential gear mechanism from said pressure oil for said hydraulic motor.
The other objects and features of the present invention will become understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.